The Building Act
Regulating building in New Zealand
The NZ Building Regulatory System provides for the legislation of buildings, building work and various occupational groups in the building industry, and the setting of building performance standards.
The Building Act of 2004 is the overarching piece
of legislation and it sets out the rules for the construction, alteration, demolition and maintenance of new and existing buildings in New Zealand.
Who is responsible for what?
If you’re involved in a building project, it’s important you know who is responsible for each aspect.
In this topic we will cover the roles and responsibilities of the regulatory bodies as well as other people involved in this process.
Regulatory bodies
MBIE, Building Consent Authorities and Territorial Authorities work together to ensure New Zealand’s buildings are safe, healthy and durable.
What are your responsibilities?
All building work in New Zealand must meet certain requirements, even if it doesn’t need a building consent. This ensures our buildings are safe, healthy and durable which means we all can have confidence in their performance. The building regulatory system sets out how work can be done and who can do it. It also ensures the system has checks and consumer protection in place.
The Building Act outlines responsibilities for a number of people who are involved in building and construction.
Take a look below to find out what some of these responsibilities include:
Select each heading to learn more. You can focus on your role, but you might find it interesting to see what others' responsibilities are too!
The Building Code
All buildings need to meet the requirements of the Building Act, but how can you tell whether a specific building meets these requirements?
The Building Code outlines building performance requirements and how to achieve them.
In this topic we’ll explore the Building Code and what it means for everyone involved in designing, building and maintaining buildings.
The Building Regulatory System
Here’s some more information about the framework which the Building Act and Building Code sit in.